Above: Juan Dolio

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The private sectors of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are working to promote greater cooperation.

Dominican Business leaders participating in the Quisqueya Business Initiative recently met with Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina to monitor the progress of that work.

The Quisqueya initiative, named for the Taino name for the island, aims to promote and encourage binational investment projects.

The initiative was strengthened during high-level bilateral talks that began earlier this year between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, cooperation that Dominican Minister of the Presidency said could “only be beneficial for domestic production and for job creation.”

The recent talks addressed progress made in the identification of join investment projects, following a commitment made during recent bilateral talks in the Dominican town of Juan Dolio last month, with an emphasis on the areas of energy, housing, trade and infrastructure.

Montalvo said that the two countries had signed agreements on trade, customs, health, tourism and the environment in the last eight months.

“All these measures will positively impact the business climate between the two countries, that’s for sure,” Montalvo said.